Known areal or surface heating elements are difficult to apply to sharply curved or radiused surfaces, such as the steering wheel or gear shift lever of a motor vehicle. Creases in the finished surface are all but unavoidable. Consequently, a control device furnished with a known areal heating element will have an unsightly, corrugated surface, and can provide disagreeable tactile feedback with the operator's hands. Besides the heating conductor, an electrically conductive wire, may be visible on the steering wheel surface and discernable to the operator's hands. Perspiration from the hands can also penetrate the cover of the surface, corrode the wire, and cause the heating system to fail.
Accordingly, there is a need for an improved heating element for application to sharply curved surfaces which overcomes the drawbacks associated with prior surface heating elements.